Over 3,500 new confirmed Covid-19 cases in Northern Ireland and 26 more deaths reported in the past 48 hours

Over 26 deaths and over 3,500 new Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Northern Ireland in the last 48 hours.

In the past seven days, 10,850 people tested positive for the deadly virus in the region.

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The Health Department confirmed 3,576 new coronavirus cases, along with 26 more deaths, one of which occurred outside of the 48-hour reporting period.

Covid-19 rates continue to rise in the north with 483 patients admitted to the hospital, up from 479 seven days ago. In the last week alone, 266 new patients entered the hospital with Covid for treatment.

35 Covid-19 patients are in intensive care units and 25 of them are on ventilators.

Overall, 99 per cent of Northern Ireland hospital beds are occupied, with only 30 beds available for new patients.

As of December 26, the health service has confirmed 96 outbreaks of the virus in residences.

EMERGENCY CLOSURE

The most recent cases come as Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 restrictions are slightly eased.

The region had been under a curfew at 8 p.m., which has now been lifted, but non-essential retail stores, close-contact services and hospitality remain closed.

Take-out services can operate until 11 p.m., but the sale of alcohol is prohibited after 8 p.m.

In addition, the Northern Education Minister has said that students who do not take exams this year will move on to remote learning from January 25.

During closure, households are not allowed to mix inside private households except in special circumstances such as caregiving or domestic bubbles.

But up to six people from two households can gather outside in a private garden with social distancing.

HSE WARNING

The lockdown measures are in place for six weeks in an effort to combat rising infection rates, but will be reviewed after four weeks.

Meanwhile, in the Republic, health officials are battling a similar exponential growth of Covid-19.

HSE Director Paul Reid cautioned that Ireland has yet to see the worst impact from this recent surge in hospital cases.

This morning, the HSE registered 581 confirmed patients with Covid-19, 56 of whom are admitted to the ICU.

And fears are mounting that this number will continue to rise as cases do, with Professor Philip Nolan projecting 3,000 new cases tonight.

Professor Nolan, chairman of the NPHET modeling advisory group, said Ireland’s cases will peak at 3,000-6,000 in the next few days and cautioned that they are expected to number in the thousands for at least the next week to ten days.

Professor Nolan said: “We have to prepare for some really worrying numbers in the coming days in case numbers and in the hospital system. All we have to do is reinforce in our daily lives, the need to stay home and restrict our lives. contacts to our family or social bubble “.